The present invention relates to bait containers, and relates more particularly to a live bait container which is comprised of a container body, a cover covered on the container body, a rotary cap covered on the cover, and a locating board retained on the inside between the cover and the rotary cap. The rotary cap can be turned between the operative position in which a through hole on the rotary cap is opened for permitting a fishhook to be inserted into a bait passage way to pick up live baits, and the non-operative in which the through hole of the rotary cap is closed to prevent escape of live baits.
Fishing is a kind of activity suitable for people of all ages. For a bait fishing, a live bait container shall be used to keep live baits alive. FIG. 1 shows a conventional live bait container for this purpose. This live bait container is comprised of a container body A and a cover B. The container body A and the cover B are injection-molded from plastics. The container body A comprises a hanger A1 at the front side for hanging on the belt, an open chamber A2 for keeping live baits, and a retaining recess A3 on the inside adjacent to the hanger A1. The cover B comprises a hinge D at the back side connected to the container body A, a plurality of air vents B1, and a spring clip fastener C at the front side for fastening to the retaining recess A3 to hold the cover B in the closed position. The hinge D has a longitudinal bending hole D1 through which the hinge D can be turned inwards and outwards. When the spring clip fastener C is bent inwards and lifted from the retaining recess A3, the cover B is opened. This structure of live bait container is still not satisfactory in function. The drawbacks of this structure of live bait container are numerous and outlined hereinafter.
1) When live baits are taken out of the container body A with a wet hand, they cannot be put back into the container body. If live baits are wetted, they will die quickly. Furthermore, it is not hygienic to pick up live baits with the hand. PA1 2) Because live baits are picked up from the container body with the hand and then fastened to the fishhook, the user's hand tends to be injured when fastening live baits to the fishhook. PA1 3) Because the air vents B1 are disposed above the open chamber A2 of the container body A and not protected by a shielding means when the cover B is closed, rainwater or liquid tends to drop to the open chamber A2 of the container body A to wet live baits. PA1 4) Because the cover B is frequently opened and closed during fishing, the hinge D will be damaged with use quickly. PA1 5) The container body A tends to fall to the ground when it is fastened to the user's belt through the hanger A1. PA1 6) The limited space of the open chamber A2 is available
for keeping a limited number of live baits, and the
user may have to prepare several live bait containers
for each fishing trip.